by Brenda Drake
Daisy shuddered. No. Oh no.
A sinking feeling overtook Daisy and tears gathered in her eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she muttered. Fate was unpredictable. Cruel sometimes. No matter how hard she tried to control it, one mistake could kill someone. Could kill her.
“I’m glad you made it, my sweet girl,” Mrs. Mason said, releasing Daisy’s hand.
Daisy sat on the chair, scooting to the end and taking the woman’s hand in hers. “I’m here. I won’t leave you.”
A moan passed through the woman’s lips. “Where is everyone?”
Daisy squeezed her hand. “Mom will be here soon.”
Mrs. Mason rolled her head over the pillow, her cloudy, gray eyes haunting. “It’s hot in the desert, dear. You must wear sunscreen. And stop bothering that dog. He’ll snip at you.”
The woman was delirious.
“Yes, Grandma.” A flood of tears drenched Daisy’s cheeks. She sobbed and wiped them away. The air gulping into her lungs was like shards of glass cutting through her soul. “I’m so sorry. I…I—” Several more painful breaths rattled her chest. “I’m a monster. Why me? I hate this. If I could… No. No. It’s not about me.” She gently squeezed the woman’s hand. “You’re not alone, Grandma. I’m here with you. I won’t leave you.”
“Grandma? Good heavens, Amy.” The woman’s words were tired and slurred. “I’m your mother. The sun has really gotten to you. Where’s your hat, dear?” The woman rolled her head back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. “We might have rain after all.” Her eyes closed, and her breathing became rhythmic with the machines keeping her alive. The woman was probably reliving her life.
The nurse came into the room and checked Mrs. Mason before inspecting the IV again.
Daisy’s eyes followed the nurse as she went about her check. “Is she in pain?”
“No pain,” she said, adjusting the oxygen tube in the woman’s nose. “The morphine does its job.”
“Are you sure she won’t last until her…um…until the rest of our family gets here?”
“Nit. Hear the breathing?” the nurse said. “She struggles. Not long now. I am sad to say she won’t see the rest of her loved ones, but she has you.”
“Yes.” She had Daisy all right. A complete stranger. It was horrible that Mrs. Mason wouldn’t get to say her final goodbyes to her family. When the nurse left, Daisy retrieved her journal and pen from her backpack.
“Jimmy, save some strawberries for the rest of us, you horrible boy,” Mrs. Mason mumbled. Though her words were scolding, the tone was affectionate.
Daisy’s pen glided across the page as she neatly wrote a farewell note. “Who’s Jimmy?” she asked.
“Why, he’s your brother, Amy. Did you bump your head?”
“Do you have any other children besides Amy and Jimmy?” Daisy scribbled a line telling Amy to wear her hat when in the sun and one to Jimmy to always enjoy strawberries. It was a nice touch to add to the paragraph above that told them how much Mrs. Mason loved her family and was proud of them.
“You are acting strange today. I haven’t forgotten Ann. She was such a beautiful child. Golden curls.”
“Did something happen to her?”
“Are you testing me? My mind is whip-sharp.”
Daisy hadn’t doubted that Mrs. Mason was smart in her day. Through the wrinkles and the gray hair, she could see a hint of the pretty woman from her past.
“No. It’s just that I don’t remember.”
“You did hit your head. Ann died when she was three.” Mrs. Mason sucked in a breath and winced. “My stomach hurts.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What’s in my nose?” Mrs. Mason reached for her face.
“You need that to breathe.” Daisy grasped the woman’s delicate hand and gently placed it beside her on the bed.
“To breathe…” The woman was asleep again.
Daisy finished the letter with Mrs. Mason’s hope to reunite with Ann, and then she neatly folded it in half.
A loud beeping sound went off in the room.
She stood and leaned over Mrs. Mason. The woman didn’t look like she was breathing. The nurse rushed into the room, followed by other hospital personnel, and they examined Mrs. Mason.
The nurse looked over at Daisy. “It’s over. She’s gone.”
Tears rose in Daisy’s eyes again, making the room and Mrs. Mason’s lifeless body blurry.
She’s dead. Gone.
Daisy closed her eyes, tears spilling from her lids and tumbling down her cheeks, and she swiped them away with her sleeve. Her soul felt rotten, and her heart was decaying in her chest. How did she know if Mrs. Mason was really dying? People recovered after doctors had said they wouldn’t. The woman could’ve had a last chance to cheat death, and Daisy stole it from her.
The burning in her scar faded, reminding her that death had already won hours ago. There was no hope. She was foolish to believe there was.
A medical aide removed Mrs. Mason’s breathing tubes.
“Do you need anything?” the nurse asked.
Daisy swallowed hard, lifted her backpack, and reached the note out to her. “She had me write this for her family.”
The nurse narrowed her gaze on Daisy. “Aren’t you her family?”
“Yes…um, I am,” Daisy lied. “It’s just that I’m from the other side of the family. I have to go.” She took a step forward so the note would be within the nurse’s reach.
She took it. “I will make certain to give it to them.”
“Thank you,” Daisy said, leaving the room. Andrei wasn’t in the hall, so she hurried along the white walls searching for him, letting the tears fall, holding back sobs. Past several rooms with doors cracked open. Past the nurses’ station and waiting room. And into the elevator.
The cafeteria was in the lobby level of the hospital. She paused before going inside. The tears ran like hot rivers down her cheeks. This gift was a curse. She wanted it gone. Accidents happened. People got hurt.
She swiped away the tears and went inside. Andrei sat at a circular table with a white paper sack. When he spotted her, he snatched up the bag, and rushed over.
“So, what happened?” Studying her face, his eyebrows pushed together. “Hey, it’ll be okay. We’ll find another way.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I…I…” Her legs were numb, and she couldn’t feel the ground underneath her.
Between sobs, her words rushed out like jagged glass. “She touched me. I couldn’t find her glasses. I was too close. And she grabbed my hand. I should’ve been more careful. I should’ve…I should’ve… I saw her…die.” She swayed on legs too weak to hold her up any longer.
Andrei caught her in his arms and held her against him. “You didn’t kill her, Daisy. She was already dying.”
“But what if I made her go sooner.” She buried her face in his chest. “What if she could’ve lasted to see her family?”
“I overheard the nurses. It didn’t sound like they’d make it.” When he spoke slower and softer, his accent seemed more prominent. Soothing. “You better?”
Daisy stepped back from him, wiping her eyes with her hands. “Yes. Thanks.”
“Promise,” he said. “You won’t change any more fates. Only the boy’s we’re looking for.”
“I’ll try, but I can’t make that promise.” Blood dripped from her nose and landed on the Formica floor.
She plugged her nose to stop the blood and turned to face him.
“You’re bleeding.” Andrei reached into the paper sack cradled in his arm and removed a napkin. “That had to be tough. To see her die.”
She took the napkin and pressed it against her nose.
“You want to sit?” he asked.
“No,” she said, sounding a little nasally against the napkin. “Let’s just find the hostel before it gets dark.”
He brushed a stray hair away from her forehead, and she sucked in a quick breath, her chest suddenly aching. “There’s a problem,” h
e said. “The place we planned to stay at had a flood. The nurse at the desk suggested another one nearby.”
“That’s disappointing.” Her voice came out shaky. “I was looking forward to staying there. It has four stars. It looked beautiful online.”
He rolled the top of the bag, sealing it. “Come on, I’m sure it’ll be just as good.”
With you there, maybe.
Frankfurt’s red-light district. Sex shops. Prostitutes and eager men roaming the streets.
Wonderful.
“It’s not that bad,” Andrei said.
Daisy gripped the strap of her backpack tighter. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You don’t have to. The expression on your face says it all.” That lazy smile, the one that kept making her uneasy, tugged at his lips as he nodded at the wooden-framed glass door squeezed between a food grill and a sex shop. “See, it isn’t so bad.”
Her gaze landed on him. “What? The door or the World of Sex?”
With a laugh, he opened the nearly twelve-foot door and let her go in before him. “It’s only for one night, and it’s cheap.”
Inside was actually nice. The backside of the door was blue and the hallway wide. It was like finding a hidden treasure in a seedy neighborhood. Or finding that one perfect guy to help her tour Europe. Her ballet flats squeaked against the mosaic floor. They were her most comfortable shoes since Andrei told her not to wear her trainers. He didn’t want her look to scream American.
The steep staircase in front of her was about to test the strength of her heart.
She followed him up to the third-floor entrance, staying a few steps behind so he wouldn’t notice how winded she became. At the counter in the lobby-slash-common area, a friendly-looking girl with a curly brown bob greeted them.
“Reservation for Andrei Vasile,” he said.
The girl tapped some things into the computer. “Two beds, yes?”
“That’s right,” he said. “Private room.”
The girl glanced up, her face held no emotion. “No. We have coed dorm reserved.”
People sat at tables in the common area—groups of guys, girls, and some mixed. There were a few couples, and she just then realized that she and Andrei must look like they were together and she felt her cheeks warm at the thought.
“That’s all you have then?” Andrei said.
“We do have free pasta tonight.” She said handing Andrei two key cards. “There are lockers on the same floor as the dorm.”
“Wait.” Daisy’s heart pounded painfully against her breastbone. “We have to sleep with other people?” She wasn’t good with strangers at a distance let alone sharing a coed dorm room. A shudder ran up her spine thinking about them breathing, snoring, and possibly releasing gas during the night. Or worse, her doing those things. “Are you sure you don’t have something else?”
The girl stared blankly.
“It’s fine.” Andrei picked up the cards and leaned closer to Daisy. “It’s just one night. Our train leaves early tomorrow. We’ll get up, eat breakfast, and be out of here quick.”
“Okay, but its coed.” She glanced around the lobby wondering what group their roommates would be. It was iffy. Either the frat-looking boys, the mixed higher-than-a-kite group, or the wrestling club in the corner. None of them eased her fears.
Andrei headed for the stairs. “Not to worry. I’ll be with you.”
He definitely could protect her. She hoisted her pack onto her back and followed him.
Good thing I got earplugs.
Ignoring the fact that they would be sleeping in the same room was going to take more than earplugs, it would take a force of nature or something.
Chapter Six
Andrei
They ditched their bags in the lockers provided in the rooms and claimed a table in the common area by the street-facing balconies. Thick, humid air lightly blew in with the loud city noises. Andrei took the sandwiches he’d bought at the hospital out of the bag.
“Would you like a drink?” asked a girl about twenty with a strong German accent.
Daisy shifted in her seat. “What’s the drinking age?”
“For the beer and wine, it’s sixteen,” the server said. “Spirits is eighteen.”
“Oh, we’re not old enough for the strong stuff. Two beers, please.” Daisy glanced over at Andrei. “What kind?”
“We only have one,” she said and hurried off.
A dude at the next table leaned back in his chair to check them out. “You’re not going to get those beers. She never came back with ours. Had to get them at the bar.” American. Blond hair, perfect smile. Ralph Lauren polo and an expensive watch. Andrei hated him right off.
Daisy looked from him to the girl. “Why would she even take our order then?”
“Who knows,” the guy said.
Andrei stood. “I’ll get the beers.”
People swarmed the bar. Andrei found a spot behind a girl with a long red braid. He stretched up to look for Daisy. She picked at her sandwich as the American talked. He stiffened. The dude’s overly engaged attention on her caused a fire to ignite inside Andrei.
What the hell? It was a jerk move to come on to a girl who was clearly with another guy. The dude didn’t know that Andrei and Daisy were just friends. She could be his girlfriend.
The girl behind the bar—tattooed, pierced, black spiky hair—yelled something in German over the loud voices. Entirely consumed at watching Daisy, he hadn’t even noticed a spot at the counter open up.
He rested an elbow on the bar and flagged down the bartender. “Do you speak English?”
“What you want?” she said.
“Two beers.”
“A moment,” she said. “Need more from the back.”
He glanced around the crowd as he waited. It was like an international convention. All young. Possibly college students on summer break eager for hookups. A girl, dark hair and darker eyes, bit on her straw, her smile inviting him to come over. In the past, he’d have a good time with her. But he only had eyes for one girl, even if she was The Hand of Death.
With one last look at the girl with the straw, he handed the bar server some euros and headed back to their table.
Daisy was special. She was cute and smart.
He kept thinking about their two years getting to know each other and all the great conversations they’d had online. He knew her better than he’d known any girl before, so why was he letting his aunt get in his head? Daisy would never purposely hurt anyone.
Parting through the sweaty bodies, he approached their table. The cocktail server sat across from Daisy, her tarot cards arranged on the table between them, two sweating glasses of beer to their side. And they had spectators.
“What are you doing?” he asked, placing his beers on the table.
Daisy paused in the middle of flipping over a card and watched him drop down on the seat beside her. “I’m giving Siri here a reading. Yes, that’s her name. Don’t try the joke. It didn’t go well. She’s from Sweden.” She slapped the card over.
He got close to her ear. “Put them away. You’ll draw attention.” The floral scent of her perfume ignited an urge in him. He wanted to kiss that long neck of hers, and the thought caused him to straighten.
The muscles in her neck tightened. “Back off. I know what I’m doing. Remember what happened last time you interrupted me.” She grinned at Siri. “You are so lucky.”
“How?” the girl looked from her to Andrei.
“Just a minute,” Andrei said to Siri, then turned to face Daisy. “You want to draw attention to us?”
“You worry too much,” she said. “They’re all drunk. I doubt they’ll remember it in the morning. If they do, we’ll be gone. Besides, I’m not changing fates. They’re paying me three euros for a reading.”
Andrei picked up his beer and took a sip, some foam getting on his lips.
Siri reached over and slowly wiped it off with her finger.
Daisy slapped down
another card. “You have much happening in your future. You want one thing while someone above you, maybe a father figure, wants something else.”
The girl gave Daisy a startled look.
“See here the Knight of Pentacles,” she said, touching the card with an image of a knight on a horse.
Both Andrei and Siri leaned over the table to inspect the card.
“It’s upside down from where the others are on the table,” Daisy said. “Reversed. It means you’re careless. Idle. If you don’t do as this father figure says, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
Siri stood. “How do you know that? It lies.”
Daisy grinned. “The cards don’t lie.”
“Here.” Siri handed her a few euros, then walked off.
Another tall and lanky server brushed her blue bangs aside and stared down at them. “Her father insists she attend university at home. She wants to go to Madrid. You’re good.”
When everyone had left their table, Daisy gathered her cards. “See, I told you I wasn’t going to change anyone’s fate. Miri has trained me to give readings. While you were gone, I made twelve euros.”
“I don’t care. We have to keep a low profile. So, keep the cards in your bag. No more readings.” He slid her beer over the table to her. She glanced at the two the server had brought. “That one’s fresher. Drink up. We should get some sleep. The train leaves early tomorrow morning.”
She picked up her beer and drank it down without stopping. “Done.”
That was hot. But he wasn’t going to let her know that. “Wow, did you even taste that?” He took a long swig of his and clanked the pilsner on the table.
“It’s been a rough day,” she said, picking up his drink and slamming down the rest of the amber liquid.
“By all means, have mine,” he said, amused, picking up one of the other glasses and taking another long swig.
“Know what?” Her gaze drifted over his face. “You sort of look like Shawn Mendes. Well, except you have blue eyes.”
“Never heard of him.”
“What? How do you not know who he is?” She lowered her voice and sang a few lyrics with a bunch of mercies and hearts in them.
She was so damn adorable singing out of tune like that, he couldn’t help but throw back a laugh.
